Writing Tips — Story Structure
In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we looked at some aspects to story structure. I explore this in my own writing over and over again. Elements of story structure are complex ideas, and the way they all work together is beautiful but also complex. When they do work well together, they provide a wonderful spine to our story that holds it up in a coherent, satisfying way.
We explored the inciting incident, goal, climax, and how they fit together.
The inciting incident is the spark that gets the action going.
The goal is what the character wants, or chooses to do. As the character sets out to attain their goal, this drives the ‘rising action’ in Freytag’s pyramid.
The climax is the high tension scene where the character (usually) gets their goal.
The inciting incident is related to the goal in that it causes the character to form their goal. For example, in the film Paddington Bear 1, a storm destroys Paddington’s home in the jungle (inciting incident). He now has the goal to find a new home in London, so he stows away on a boat and seeks a home. In the climax, he works with the Browns to defeat the antagonist, is accepted by them as part of the family, and is given a home.
What did our young writers come up with?
In one story, the main character’s friend goes missing (inciting incident). The protagonist’s goal is to find her friend, and she enters a portal into another world to do so. It turns out the baddie has done more terrible things than just steal her friend. In the climax, the protagonist saves her friend and stops the baddie from the other terrible things. I love this example, because it shows how one ‘small’ goal can lead a character into a much bigger, more meaningful, potentially world-saving situation.
In another story, a storm destroys a home on an island. The protagonist’s goal is to build a stronger home that can resist storms. What would the climax be to this story? One could imagine lots of scenarios, which will also depend on the antagonist (or antagonistic force).
A third story is an ongoing work. In this story, there are two protagonists, with inciting incidents and goals of their own. Both protagonists are trapped by their circumstances. One is about to be married off, and the other has just learned she has become heir to the throne. Both have the same goal, freedom. I look forward to seeing how the protagonists work together, and how the climax reflects their quest to be free.
What’s the inciting incident, goal and climax in your current story? I’d love to hear about it!
